Will Home Depot cut plywood to size?

[jtvang125]

I have a circular saw but good luck cutting anything accurate. If they do, do they charge a fee or free with purchase of wood?

 

[jmagg]

Around here, they give one cut free and a buck a cut after.

 

[PottedMeat]

I have a circular saw but good luck cutting anything accurate. If they do, do they charge a fee or free with purchase of wood?

with a circular saw, use a guide. like a few feet of angle iron or aluminum clamped to your workpiece.

as long as you're buying the whole thing i think they'll cut anything, probably +/- 1/2" or more and i wouldn't bet it on being square.

 

[Nashemon]

It's been free every time I've ever had them do it. That said, their measurements have never been perfect, but I believe that is advertised. They also say they won't do any rip cuts less than 12 inches. I just have them cut it wider than I need it so I can fit it in my car then cut it at home.

I used to work there back in the day and never charged for cutting.

 

[Exterous]

Its always been free for me but i also dont ask for a ton of cuts. I've had good luck with this Kreg tool when cutting anything up to 4x8 plywood down to the desired size:

https://www.kregtool.com/store/c48/saw-attachments/p424/rip-cuttrade/

 

[Thebobo]

Its always been free for me but i also dont ask for a ton of cuts. I've had good luck with this Kreg tool when cutting anything up to 4x8 plywood down to the desired size:

https://www.kregtool.com/store/c48/saw-attachments/p424/rip-cuttrade/

yep don't get carried away.

 

[jtvang125]

Its always been free for me but i also dont ask for a ton of cuts. I've had good luck with this Kreg tool when cutting anything up to 4x8 plywood down to the desired size:

https://www.kregtool.com/store/c48/saw-attachments/p424/rip-cuttrade/

I was just looking at that too. That and used table saws on craigslist. How do you cut anything wider than 24"?

 

[Exterous]

I was just looking at that too. That and used table saws on craigslist. How do you cut anything wider than 24"?

If you can cut in from the otherside you can generally make it work. So if you need a 36" wide length of plywood, cut 12" off the otherside (- blade width)

I'd love a table saw but I dont really need it enough to justify the cost and space

 

[Thebobo]

Get a 5" circular saw. should be good for most home use.

 

[Paperdoc]

A lot of stores will do a few cuts for free, but they always warn you they are doing "rough cuts", NOT super-accurate. Typically they use a large saw frame system that is not really as rigid as a big table saw. They do their best to measure and get it right, but accuracy of +/- 1/8" may be all you can expect. Do not expect cabinet-making accuracy or straightness. And for speed, they often are using a rip saw or combination blade, so the cut is not a clean as a fine-toothed blade for cabinet work.

 

[Red Squirrel]

They will but don't think they'll do precision cuts, like you tell them roughly how big you want but they won't cut to the exact mm but get it in the ball park. They usually have one of those machines that can cut vertically so it can do fairly clean straight cuts I think.

As for cutting with a circular saw at home, buy a straight edge and clamps. You clamp it on then slide the saw against it while cutting. What I did is I cut a piece of wood to match the distance between the saw edge and the blade, so when I place the straight edge I put that block where my line is so the straight edge is not right at the line, but far enough that when the saw is against it, the blade is at the line.

 

[jtvang125]

Is it better to cut with the grain or across it? Or does that not really matter?

 

[Thebobo]

https://www.wwgoa.com/article/cutting-across-the-grain-and-get-a-smooth-cut/

 

[Zeze]

Free cut but not very precise. Due to the thickness of the blade itself and how the clueless rep operates it inconsistently by each cut, it's not reliable for 'finer' projects.